Only Skin Deep
by Droory
Summary: Sheba hates what she is now, what has happened to her, but Ivan is there for her.


_**Hey, thanks for stopping by to read, here's a little windshipping fic.  
Well, I'll let you read.**_

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Sheba sniffled and sobbed on the edge of the couch in the Lemurian Ship's common room. It was unbelievably late, but Sheba couldn't sleep. She had snuck out of her shared room with Jenna after having spent the entire day hiding from everyone in there. She couldn't bring herself to see any of them, she just couldn't! Not after what happened to her, not after what she was now.

Though she had only been in the common room for about ten minutes, a sizable pool of tears had fallen onto the wooden panels beneath her and frozen. The Northern Seas were blistering cold, but right now Sheba didn't mind. The freezing numbness helped, maybe if she couldn't feel anything it would all be better. A choked cry made its way from her throat as the realisation that this would not be true came to be.

She was horrible now, her friends would never look at her the same, no one would ever want to be with her. She was disgusting. Sheba shook her head, trying to not believe herself, trying to believe that somehow, something would make it right, or maybe it would just go unnoticed for the rest of her life. She shook her head again though, sparkling droplets of tears flying through the common room.

She looked up out the porthole near the couch. The moon was out, a silvery crescent of light in an otherwise dark sky. It was so cloudy tonight, all the stars were hidden behind the thick grey block of clouds, a dark shroud over what should be a bright and beautiful night. In the glass of the porthole she could see left half of her face, the half that was illuminated by the pale moonlight.

She was a very pretty young girl, very tan because of her upbringing in the desert lands of Lalivero. The strands of golden hair that she could see glittered in the silvery moonlight, like sunshine meeting the moon. Her eyes were that of emeralds, large, youthful and bright, though currently heavily worn with tears and bloodshot, dazzling to behold. Sheba turned away from her reflection, afraid to look at herself for too long.

Her hand went to the skin on her right cheek, backing away for a moment as it came into contact. It was so… _foreign, _unnatural. Her fingers followed along the trio of jagged marks the monster had left on her face, forever scarring her. They stretched from her jawbone right up to the bridge of her nose, thick patches of forever damaged skin.

_"Sheba?"_ A soft voice called from the stairway leading down into the dining room, kitchen and bedrooms.

Sheba looked up, before quickly bringing her face back down out of view. She had caught a glimpse of the boy, so like her, standing in the doorway, surveying the darkness. She sniffled twice, rubbing her hand under her nose before answering.

_"I'm here, Ivan."_ She said weakly, her voice broken from her sorrow.

She heard Ivan slowly moving closer to her, before his weight came down on the couch beside her. She didn't turn to look at him, preferring to keep herself hidden from view. It was better that way, she wouldn't see the disgust in his eyes as he looked at her.

_"I went to check on you, but you weren't in your bed. Are you okay?"_ Ivan asked, tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder.

She quickly shrugged it off. Afraid what contact may lead to. She had been unconscious all day, ever since that beast had marked her. Since discovering her deformity she made to keep up that appearance, she probably should have stayed in bed. At least that way, Ivan wouldn't have to see her now, not like this.

_"Sheba?"_ Ivan asked again, worry for her clearly evident, _"C'mon, you know you can tell me anything. What's up?"_

Sheba shook her head afraid. Ivan waited beside her, she could tell he was debating reading her mind, it was so obvious. She would be doing the same. How could she just tell him though, how could she show him what she was now? She wasn't beautiful anymore, she was so young and already literally scarred for life.

Slowly, after careful deliberation, she turned to him. The moonlight caught on her face, illuminating the rough streak of jagged skin along her cheek in a sickeningly silver-white glow. She kept her eyes closed, she didn't what to see Ivan's look of horror, she didn't want to see herself in his bright purple eyes.

_"L-look at me… I-I'm h-hideous."_ She sobbed, her voice shaking on each word.

She suddenly felt great warmth in her hand, a felling which started in the tip of her fingers and then ran the length of arm. She turned her head away, and opened one eye, Ivan's hand was holding hers, his thumb gently massaging the back of it. She almost felt like smiling.

_"Sheba… c'mon, you're not hideous. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever known."_ Ivan said softly, care ringing true in each and every syllable he spoke.

Sheba wouldn't hear it, _"N-not anymore, Ivan. Look at me! Look at what that thing did to me!"_

She heard Ivan chuckle just a little, _"Sheba, I don't see anything except for my best friend. To me, to all of us, you look exactly the same. Now, Sheba, open your eyes and look at me. I want to see you smile tonight."_

Sheba turned her head back into the shadows, _"No… I… I don't want to see you."_ She replied.

_"Sheba. Look. At. Me." _The words were forceful, but filled with such care and softness that it didn't matter how he may have said them.

Feeling eased, though not by much, by Ivan's tone, Sheba slowly turned her face back to face the source of Ivan's voice. She could feel his breath on her face, making the scar on her cheek burn. Slowly, ever so slowly, she allowed her eyes to open again. Ivan was completely shadowed, light caught around him indicating his silhouette, but otherwise Sheba could see nothing of her friend.

_"There."_ Ivan said gently, a handkerchief found its way to Sheba's eyes and wiped away her tears, _"Now believe me Sheba, you're still beautiful."_

Ivan was always one to call her beautiful. It was sort of a pet name for her, she often called him handsome as well. It depended on the situation they were in, they had a lot of names for each other, so the compliment was sort of lost. It was still nice to hear right now, but Sheba couldn't see herself like that anymore.

Her eyes ran over his outline, searching for where his eyes might be and she stared right into them, _"But… Ivan, I-I…"_

_"I know, Sheba. And it's okay."_ Ivan said simply, _"To us you're still you. Nothing will ever change that, nothing."_

Sheba quickly buried herself into Ivan's chest, pulling him closer and closer to him. Ivan was always so nice to her, more than any of the others. Of all her friends, bar perhaps Jenna, Ivan was who she spent the most time with. He always made her laugh, cheered her up, spurred her on, and generally just made her happier, made her life easier. Ivan wrapped his small arms around Sheba, giving her the warmth she so desperately needed right now.

After several minutes of silence, broken occasionally by a sniffle or sob, Sheba pulled away from Ivan, wiping her tears away. She smiled a little to Ivan, fulfilling his wish of wanting to see her smile. Her hand went up to his face, still so perfectly hidden in the shadows, stroking his cheek. Then, the tip of her finger just brushed something, something that was never there before. Ivan's hand quickly reached up and grabbed hers, gently pulling it away from her.

Sheba blinked twice and stared at his form, her arm still held by him. She heard him breathe deeply, and then electricity crackled to life in his other hand, lighting the room in sparks of purples and blues. Sheba gasped quickly, her hand moving right over her mouth as the light hit Ivan's face. Over his right eye, now pale and grey, there were three jagged scars that stretched from his forehead down to his cheek.

_"It got me too."_ He smirked, the scar twisting with the action, _"How do I look?"_

Sheba's hand hesitantly found its way back to his face, her fingers gently trailing over the rough skin. She swallowed for him, it was something they shared now. His right eye had lost its wise purple colour, it's mysterious sheen, and his cheek wore the same strikes as hers. Yet, she almost couldn't see it on him, it was like it didn't matter.

She smiled though, her hand stroking the skin as though it wasn't there, _"You're always handsome, Ivan."_

_"Heh, I know, no need to tell me."_ He laughed a little, to which Sheba managed to pop a chuckle.

_"You asked how you looked."_ She argued, smiling wider.

And the two scarred friends laughed a little. Sheba now realising that to Ivan, no matter how she looked, she would always be beautiful. It would not be just a name though, she would be truly beautiful, and to her, he would always be handsome.

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_**And there you go.  
Nice, right? Well, please review and leave your thoughts! (I love feedback you see)  
**_

_**Oh, and Mr. E Box, if you read this, no, this is not the fic I promised you. That will be a chapter by chapter thing, and I am working ideas together for it. So you'll have to wait, my friend.**_

**_Your friend and writer,  
Droory_**


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